July 18, 2016

 

The owner of a highrise apartment building at 2850 Jane St. pleaded guilty to fire code infractions on July 15 and was fined a total of $71,000 for various breaches of the Ontario Fire Code.

 

Toronto Fire Services responded to a call about a fire in a second-floor apartment at 2850 Jane St. on April 19.

Firefighters found a father, mother and child unconscious in the west stairwell. The mother perished from her injuries. The father and the child were transported to hospital in critical condition and survived their injuries.

 

Toronto Fire Services, working in conjunction with the Ontario Fire Marshal's office, found numerous Ontario Fire Code violations, including:

- exit signs not illuminated

- no records of tests for emergency lighting, and

- stairwell door not closing and latching properly.

 

Of the total fine, $50,000 was directly related to the stairwell door not latching properly – which allowed smoke to contaminate the west stairwell where the deceased was found.

 

The Ontario Fire Marshal's office determined the cause of the fire to be an unattended candle in the bedroom of an apartment on the second floor.

 

Toronto Fire Services has a legislated duty to enforce the provisions of the Ontario Fire Code and will continue to charge owners who fail to meet their duty to comply with all requirements of the Ontario Fire Code. 

 

"Toronto Fire Service offers its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased," said Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop. "Fire Services is committed to ensuring that life safety risks to Toronto residents – and to our firefighters responding to incidents in the community – are addressed." 

 

This news release is also available on the City's website: http://bit.ly/2a1COP8

 

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

 

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Media contact: Toronto Fire Services, 416-338-0763